Bogdan Tudorache

Ten important professional and employers’ associations in the field of energy efficiency of buildings, representing hundreds of important companies in Romania and also tens of thousands of specialists among architects, engineers and energy auditors ask the Romanian Government to allocate a minimum of 4 billion euro for this sector of the 30.5 billion that Romania can access with the help of the Recovery and Resilience Plan that must be sent to the European Commission in the next period.

“We encourage the Government to allocate at least 4 billion euro for the energy efficiency of the buildings from the economic recovery funds that the European Union makes available. Energy-inefficient buildings are responsible for 36% of European greenhouse gas emissions, so they should be allocated the corresponding amount of the 11.3 billion funds to reduce these emissions according to the requirements of the European Green Deal, meaning at least 4 billion euro. These funds would represent an investment with a great added value for the Romanian economy, for increasing the standard and quality of life for Romanian citizens, for contributing to a cleaner environment, for job creation and for reducing dependence on energy imports,” stated, in a joint document, the representatives of the Romanian Association of Energy Auditors for Buildings, the Romanian Association of Installation Engineers, the pro-nZEB Cluster Association, the Romanian Green Building Council, Energy Policy Group, the QETICS Association, the Order of Energy Auditors from Romania, the Employers Organization of Construction Companies, the the Employers Organization of Thermal Insulation Carpentry Manufacturers from Romania and the Association for the Promotion of Energy Efficiency in Buildings – ROENEF.

“On the other hand, they are essential for compliance with our international and domestic obligations to reduce emissions, but also on the rate of renovation of buildings,” the statement said.

The professional and employers’ associations list some advantages that would be brought by allocating as large a sum as possible from the funds that the European Union makes available through the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism, including the fact that every euro invested in building renovation returns in the economy at least another 4 euro in associated benefits.

Also, reducing energy losses in the building sector means reducing energy imports, and also the possibility to increase energy exports, and each billion invested produces, on average, 20,000 new jobs in the economy by 2030, according to a study of Building Performance Institute in Europe.